WARWICKSHIRE booked their place in the Twenty20 quarter-finals after beating Glamorgan by nine runs (D/L) in a frenetic, rainswept spectacle under the Cardiff floodlights.

WARWICKSHIRE booked their place in the Twenty20 quarter-finals after beating Glamorgan by nine runs (D/L) in a frenetic, rainswept spectacle under the Cardiff floodlights.

Between a string of torrential showers, the Bears emerged from 11 overs with a total of 94 for three.

Popped into the Duckworth/Lewis mincer, that came out as a target of 83 in nine overs. Led by Paul Harris, who somehow managed to concede just seven runs in two overs of a nine-over slog, and stabilised by faultless catching, the Bears closed the game out quite expertly.

It left Darren Maddy's side as the first county definitely through to the last eight. They need to win one of their two remaining games - at Northampton tomorrow and at home to Worcestershire on Friday - to assure a home draw in the quarters.

With loads of lateral movement in the sodden air, batting was a difficult business. After Neil Carter perished to the first ball of the match, Jim Troughton soon sent up a skier.

Maddy and Tim Ambrose rebuilt skilfully. Running like Charlie Dickens (the gifted racehorse of the 1980s, not the author), they added 67 in nine overs. Ambrose had just climbed into the offensive with a four and six off successive balls from Robert Croft when the heavens re-opened.

After another 25-minute break, at 9.30pm the Bears went back out for one more over - and plundered 21 from it. Ambrose took up where he left off with six and four off Ryan Watkins before perishing for 42 from 27 balls.

The wicketkeeper's Twenty20 tally this season stands at a remarkable 209 runs from 141 balls. Maddy finished unbeaten on 43 from 36 balls.

Glamorgan biffed 12 off Carter's first over but Jimmy Anyon's first three balls removed both openers, both times the wet ball being well caught in the deep by Maddy.

In the next over, Troughton completed a similar catch before Heath Streak tightened the straitjacket round Glamorgan. His first over - the fifth - cost just a single and ousted Jimmy Maher, brilliantly stumped off a lifter by Ambrose.

Mark Wallace thumped Tim Groenewald for three sixes but Harris's two steel-nerved overs left Gla-morgan needing 24 from the last two overs.

Wallace's salvo was terminated by another perfectly-judged outfield catch, this time from Groenewald and, well, 17 from the last over from Streak? Not likely.